LOS ANGELES – Yes, there were boos in the Coliseum Saturday afternoon when Clay Helton led his Georgia Southern Eagles onto the field.
But they didn’t last long and they seemed perfunctory, observing the ritual of booing the visitor just because. Nothing personal.
Indeed, Helton pretty much felt at home here, in the venue where he’d coached parts of eight seasons as a head coach (including an interim stint at the end of the 2013 season) and 12 seasons on staff. His Eagles lost 59-20 to USC, in a game that got out of hand in the second half, but consider: Georgia Southern scored first and led the heavily favored Trojans for four minutes, and they were within 21-13 early in the second quarter.
Yeah, Trojan fans might have been upset with Helton once again, but for a different reason for much of the first half. His team was making USC sweat.
But this was only partially about the score.
For Georgia Southern, the trip to California – with a loss at Fresno State last week and a week’s worth of practices at the Dallas Cowboys’ training camp in Oxnard before Saturday’s appointment in the Coliseum – was a good test before the Eagles begin Sun Belt Conference play.
For Helton – and for his son Turner, a redshirt junior quarterback who played much of the fourth quarter backing up JC French IV – it was additionally a weekend’s worth of special moments.
“There was a picture I had … it was me and him, and he was about six years old,” Clay Helton said. “And it was after the game, the (Coliseum) torch is lit, and we’re running. We’re running from end zone to end zone.
“… I mean, to have 12 years here and go from the elementary school all the way through (Palos Verdes) high school. And, you know, getting the opportunity to step on the field. We hugged right before (his) first series and said, ‘Man, isn’t this cool?’ You know, when you blink your eyes, your children get old. And the man he is, he’s a good player, but I’m even more proud of the man here. So that was a special moment for him.
“We shared an emotional moment on Thursday night (in Oxnard),” he continued. “I think the memories came flooding back to us. We’re basically at Dallas Cowboys training camp, and you’re there together as a team, but you get to spend more time than you do being back at home, where they just leave (after practice). We’re eating together. We’re all together. So to be able to spend some extra time with him and share those memories – we had the emotional moment Thursday night, and then to have him on the field today, that was special.”
That wasn’t all. The Trojans’ honorary captain Saturday, the alumnus who would lead them through the tunnel and onto the field, was Deontay Burnett, who was the receiving hero when Helton’s Trojans beat Penn State in the Rose Bowl on the first day of 2017, probably the high point of his Trojans tenure. Burnett caught 13 passes that day for 164 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner from Sam Darnold with just under two minutes left.
“To see Deontay Burnett today, and Marqise Lee today, guys that you just absolutely love and are a part of your family, it was special,” Helton said. “It was special to be back.
“There were just so many texts and calls and people coming up (to say hello). It was first class. I mean, any time – this game is about relationships, and there were so many relationships made in 12 years here. And to see former alumni that had helped me while I was here, former players, former administrations, academic counselors, trainers – they’re your family. That’s your football family. And to hug their neck and be able to say, ‘Hey, love you, proud of you,’ I mean, that’s been a neat deal.”
How did the coach handle this week?
“I would say it’s all business,” starting quarterback French said. “I mean, that’s Coach Helton. He’s strictly business. So I think he did a great job of, if he had any emotions, not showing them. And we had that chip on our shoulder coming in here. We wanted to win for him, because he’s so good to us.”
Did the players get the sense of how much this meant to Helton?
“Oh, yeah, definitely,” said linebacker Branden Tyson. “He coached here for a long time. So to be able to return back here and bring his guys in here … we obviously want to get a win for him, (but) we didn’t make that happen.”
Said Helton: “We’ve been together going on our fourth season now, and we produced a lot of good memories (at Georgia Southern). And they wanted to produce another one for me. I said, ‘Hey, we do this together. This is about us. It’s not about one person. But they tried their butts off and they brought great energy … they just played a really good football team.”
Honestly, Helton may have treated USC better than the institution or its fans treated him by the end.
He bailed USC out in 2013 when he took over as interim head coach II for the Las Vegas Bowl, after Lane Kiffin had been fired on the tarmac at LAX, when Ed Orgeron resigned after being told he wouldn’t replace Kiffin. Steve Sarkisian was hired to be the head coach for 2014, but Helton stepped in and guided the Trojans to a 45-20 victory in the bowl game, then went back to an assistant’s role on Sarkisian’s staff.
Helton replaced Sarkisian at midseason in 2015, went 5-4 and lost in the Holiday Bowl. Then he went 10-3 in 2016 and won the Rose Bowl, 11-3 in 2017 and lost the Cotton Bowl, followed a 5-7 2018 with an 8-5 2019 and another Cotton Bowl berth, and went 5-1 in 2020 during the COVID season and reached the Pac-12 championship game, rallying after falling behind by two touchdowns in a loss to Oregon.
And then, two games into the 2021 season, he was let go. His record at USC: 46-24, amid grumbling from alumni and fans who were (and still are) waiting for the second coming of Pete Carroll. Lincoln Riley’s record as he starts his fourth season with the Trojans: 28-14 following Saturday.
The two are friends, which might have influenced the scheduling of this game. And it’s safe to say that each will be pulling for the other’s team going forward.
“I talked to him before the game,” Riley said. “It’s great to see him. We had a really good conversation, like we always do. A ton of respect for him. I hope they win the rest of their games. He and his family are great, and again, he made some major contributions to his place. That’s somebody that loves this place and is passionate about it.
“I just want him to know that he’s appreciated. He’s appreciated by our football program, by USC and I wish them the best going forward.”
And Helton returned the favor. In his heart, it seems, he’ll always be a Trojan.
“This place has always been first class,” he said. “I’m very grateful that I got to be a Trojan for 12 seasons. And I will always hold this place near and dear to my heart. It’s one of those special places and you get to be a part of it, and you know it’s not going to last forever. You hope it does.
“But I got to be a part of it, and to be back and see what Coach Riley’s doing with a really good ballclub, I can’t wait for them to do even more great things here.
“Always rooting for the Trojans.”
jalexander@scng.com